Jeffrey Marcus Gray, a 55-year-old resident of Forest Court in St. Augustine, was arrested on a felony charge of armed trespassing Sunday morning after he refused to leave the immediate vicinity of the Funky Pelican, the restaurant at the Flagler Beach pier.
The pier is public property, as is the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The restaurant itself leases its space from city government in Flagler Beach. But individuals may be trespassed from public sidewalks or parks or other public property, if not without raising potential legal issues. The Funky Pelican, in business since 2011, features large, public blackboards on its walls fronting State Road A1A, where members of the public are invited to express themselves, albeit courteously and congenially.
A Flagler Beach police officer reported to the area in front of the restaurant after getting a complaint about a man holding a sign that read “God bless homeless vets.” Gray was holding the sign. The officer told him of reports that Gray had been harassing people. “Have you seen me harass anybody?” Gray told the officer, who then told Gray that he was free to go. Gray was not interested in moving. Nor would he identify himself or present a form of identification.
A Funky Pelican employee told the officer that Gray “was harassing people coming in and out of the restaurant and also taking pictures of people,” according to Gray’s arrest report. (It may be intimidating, rude and unnecessary to take pictures of people coming in and out of a business, but it is not illegal as long as the person taking the pictures is on a public right of way.) The employee told the officer that Gray “was resistant to their request to stop harassing the customers, and he refused to leave upon their request.”
The business asked police to trespass Gray, even though Gray appeared to have been on the sidewalk throughout: the police report describes Gray as “standing in front of The Funky Pelican on the City of Flagler Beach Boardwalk area”–in other words, on public property, commonly crisscrossed by passersby. The officer “verbally trespassed” Gray and asked him to “simply move down the sidewalk one way or another.” Gray refused.
A sergeant arrived at the scene and trespassed Gray both from in front of the Funky Pelican and the City of Flagler Beach Boardwalk area and the Pier. Gray, the report states, “was warned numerous times verbally about being trespassed and continued to refuse. Subsequently. Jeffrey was arrested for trespass after warning.”
Once Gray was arrested, officers searched him and found he was carrying a loaded .380-caliber pistol (also not illegal in Florida, which last year removed the requirement that individuals may only carry a firearm with a permit.) That increased the trespassing charge from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony (“trespass armed with a firearm”). The report notes that Gray had set up cameras, which presumably contain evidence of pictures or video he may have taken. The report does not specify those details. Gray was booked at the Flagler County jail and released on $2,500 bond the same afternoon.
Thomas Hutson says
Well apparently Flagler Beach Police Department and Funky Pelicans have not heard of 1st amendment audits. They both might want to get their check book ready. I hope their insurance policies are paid up.
GW says
I believe that this guy has many videos on YouTube where he does the same thing in other cities to exercise his constitutional rights in public spaces. Good luck with the arrest Flagler Beach!!
Pogo says
@Jeff
You’re gonna have to do a lot better than that to get a floriduh man t shirt and 10 gallon maga hat; pissing gasoline while you set your hair on fire is barely the ante nowadays.
Nenemalo Jodon says
Violated his rights.
protonbeamexposure says
ooops – get ready to pay up Flagler Beach —- overzealous cops for sure….they need better training as someone’s super cop ego won the day and this likely won’t hold weather on 1st amendment grounds
Luna says
This guy is a First Amendment auditor. The police messed up and he will most likely sue them. Poor policing. Filming in public is not a crime. People have no expectation of privacy when in public.
Justbob says
Stay tuned for a YouTube video of the encounter, a dismissal of the charges and a lawsuit.
Hook, line and sinker says
The article will be the City of Flagler Beach settling with him. Dummies should have looked at YouTube first
Ricky says
GOD BLESS THE HOMELESS VETS!
Joe D says
Wow…if these charges don’t get tossed AND expunged from the man’s record (unless it can be PROVEN BY SWARN WITNESSES) that he was verbally “harassing” customers in front of the Funky Pelican on PUBLIC PROPERTY, someone ought to notify the ACLU, and potentially sue the City for false arrest, and the caller /employee/owner from the Funky Pelican for filing a false police report!
It’s not that his sign should even be OBJECTIONABLE to ANYONE. Clearly the Flagler police department have not heard about Freedom of Speech.
What exactly is “verbal trespass?” YELLING THREATS at someone from a distance on public property? I guess it didn’t help that he was carrying a small caliber gun…although in the FREE STATE [what a joke] of Florida, isn’t it legal for him to carry a gun (as long as he’s not a CONVICTED FELON…which I guess he will be, if these …Seemingly… BOGUS charges aren’t DROPPED).
Good God…we are really devolving into a POLICE STATE if these charges stand as they have been reported.
I’m hoping that this story has follow up by FlaglerLive! If there isn’t substantial PROOF of this man’s “verbal trespassing”…..MAYBE a BOYCOTT of the FUNKEY PELICAN by local citizens or Veterans groups might be warranted?!?
Simply UNBELIEVABLE!
Sherry says
Here is what gets me. . . Why? Why? Why? Did the FB police allow Maga Cult members to drive around with vile signs saying things like “Fu$% Biden” and shouting obscenities in full display of children? Would a book about those acts be “banned”? Why did so few people comment about that, here on FL?
Yet, here we have a story about a fella with a sign supporting “Homeless Veterans” getting harassed by restaurant employees, and then by the police, although he was on public property and “legally” carrying a gun? As they say. . . “Something’s Rotten in Denmark”!
Dane says
Hey Flagler, get ready for a visit from the First Amendment Auditors.
There was nothing illegal about what the an was doing.
A hard lesson, but you will learn soon.
Robjr says
Trespass a person from the public sidewalk?
On its face this sounds like some Gestapo tactic.
Richard says
Professional agitator. Nothing better to do than harass a local small business.